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May 20-21 in Chicago, delegates from the 28 NATO countries will gather to make plans for the 63-year-old military alliance. Peace and justice activists from around the country and the globe will be there too.

The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) is the main imperialist military force in the world today, being the vehicle for war and occupation in Afghanistan and Libya and beyond. Though it is an "alliance" it is an unequal one. The U.S. government has long used NATO as a tool of its military goals, originally to challenge the Soviet Union and the socialist countries and now to expand its geopolitical power and influence.

Despite being a Cold War relic and claiming to be a defensive alliance for Europe, NATO today continues its expansion in Eastern Europe, threatening Russia as well as pushing into Africa, Asia and elsewhere.

NATO is not a protector of peace, but an aggressive force that reinforces militarism, wars and military spending at a time when the U.S. and the world needs peace, real diplomacy and domestic spending for human needs more than ever. Working people demand peace not war.

That is why the Communist Party is joining with other organizations and thousands of individuals to protest the NATO Summit and participate in the Counter-Summit for Peace & Economic Justice the same weekend. The Counter-Summit will pose an alternative to the continued war and militarism promised by NATO.

It is long past time for NATO to end and for the U.S. to change its foreign policy to one of peace, diplomacy and international friendship. No to NATO!

Below is a list of some of the activities next week that we will be participating in.

One great reason to attend is a very special workshop we are participating in:

A New Economy is Possible: Jobs & Economic Justice vs. Militarismsponsored by People Before Profits Education FundFriday, May 18, 1:00-2:45pm

The current economic and jobs crisis and the structural inequality in the economy highlight more than ever the costs of militarism and war. In the NATO countries unions, community organizations, student groups and new social movements are responding in dynamic ways to the needs and demands of working people. From Occupy Wall Street, to the Republic Windows Take-over here in Chicago, to the anti-austerity struggles in Europe, the people are pushing back against the 1% and their policies that balance budgets on the backs of the 99% and prioritize military spending over human needs.

Protests Against War, Militarism and Austerity

The Nurses United union and dozens of labor and justice organizations are gathering for a massive march to call on taxing Wall Street and building an economy for the 99%. The March to Heal America will demand a "Robin Hood Tax" to provide for essential services such as healthcare.NOTE: The city of Chicago unjustly cancelled this march's permit this week. They are negotiating for a possible new location. Watch their website for updates.

A mass protest rally and march organized by the Coalition Against NATO/G8 War & Poverty Agenda. Featuring musical performance by Tom Morello and many speakers. Join the Communist Party contingent. Look for our banner on the east side of Petrillo Bandshell near Lakeshore Blvd.

Supported by thousands, Afghanistan and Iraq veterans will march to NATO Summit to ceremoniously return their military service medals in solidarity with the people of Afghanistan. IVAW especially calls on military veterans from all conflicts to support and assist.

The CPUSA live video broadcast this month will be dedicated to the NATO Summit, Counter-Summit and the protests in Chicago.

Libero Della Piana, National Vice-Chair of the Communist Party USA will make a brief presentation about the history and role of NATO, the anti-NATO protests planned for Chicago and an alternative vision to NATO war and militarism. Questions can be submitted live during the event.

Thurs, May 177:00PM EasternTo watch, simply visit cpusa.org/live at that date and time

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Comments

I am in disbelief in your opposition to western forces that confronted communist forces in years past. I lived under the Soviet Union government for 21 years. Communism brought my East Germany home only poverty and no jobs. Shelves at the market were bare many times and you worried so often about how I was going to live. Thanks to American military for working to bring capitalism and jobs, and a new freedom to my country. You communists talk about the how good you would be, yet you've never lived under communism. Thank you Pesident Reagan.

W. E. B. Du Bois would be very, very proud of the protesters and activists who come to Chicago to challenge N A T O on the critical question of peace today.
Almost one hundred years ago, Du Bois urged the world strongly to protect natives imperiled by guns while imperial empires in England, France and Germany sought to steal rubber.
Almost seventy years ago Du Bois offered the defense of Pan-Africanism to aid a troubled world, while it formed the United Nations, as consultant from the NAACP, to safeguard human rights, in the face of the genocide of empires, to preserve peace.
All activists should understand the Big Lies of anti-communism and racism, and the lies about our U. S. peace movement, historically and currently used to stop peace, especially in the United States.
Du Bois teaches from his grave, from about 60 years ago:

"For 50 years I have been in touch with social currents in the United States. Never before has organized reaction wielded the power it does today: by ownership of press and radio, by curtailment of free speech, by imprisonment of liberal thinkers and writers. It has become almost impossible today in my country even to hold a public rally for peace. This has been accomplished by inducing Americans to believe that America is in imminent danger of aggression from communism, socialism and liberalism, and that the peace movement cloaks this threat..."
All should teach all at this critical protest of N A T O in Chicago, IL.